Screentakes

Jennine Lanouette  has some pretty clear videos about story and acting.

Sympathetic Doesn't Have To Mean Likable from Jennine Lanouette on Vimeo.

It's not that he was likeability that pulled the audience in, it was his vulnerability.

Show your main character at a power disadvantage, even for a moment, and the audience will get on board, we all love an underdog.

Some characters don't immediately illicit sympathy.

in Margin Call, the characters are all rich and powerful, but we are introduced to each one in a vulnerable moment (ones dog is dying, one has bad nicotine withdrawal etc)

How bout james bond (invulnerable) we see him at the mercy of his boss

Once you show your character at a power disadvantage they can be a dick afterwards, just have to introduce them in a position of vulnerabllity.

The examination of human deviance is as essential as the triumph over adversity and the glorification of strength.

For the viewer it needs to be personal, a practical matter for the writer. By engineering a sympathetic attachment you enable your viewer to stay with your deviant character and outrageous behaviour in order to  reveal the larger cultural meanings contained in their story.


Who Has the Power? from Jennine Lanouette on Vimeo.

power shift on an action is stronger, because it's understood visually also



Lesson One - Visuals and Action from Jennine Lanouette on Vimeo.


have to show how tough max is but also his humanity

we saw him make a decision visually. We understood what he was thinking because of what we saw, how important gas is, and that he messed with this guy. So we know how important both things are and understand what his thoughts are as he considers both.




Dialogue as Action from Jennine Lanouette on Vimeo.